Captive
by MikaMckeena
Summary: The Turtles are capture by someone or something and each put in a cage not with any of the others. Only can they talk through the vents in their cages and hope to keep the other alive with words.
1. Waking

Captive

Based off the 2003 cartoon, owned by the ppl who made the Turtles!

Rating: Teen for dark moments.

Sum: The Turtles are capture by someone or something and each put in a cage not with any of the others. Only can they talk through the vents in their cages and hope to keep the other alive with words.

So what now?

Memories came in and out as eyes blinked in the near darkness while the skin felt the chilly steel under it. Pain went and laced the body in every nerve to foot and shell of the captive for the moment as the body fought the mind to sleep even more.

Where was he?

Fingers stretching out to touch the floor a bit more and the mind gave into the body to wake up. Feeling the pull of dried blood on his skin as it moved and more soreness laced on the bruised olive skin a moment. So what had happened to him? Where the others ok? Pulling his legs in and knees a bit in finding his pads where gone and hissed in the sting of scrapes pulling from the pull of muscles.

Reaching up as soon as he could knell to pull his mask into place and feeling more blood that strained the thing, left eye was to swelled to even open. Great. Slowly all he could do was crawl around this room and get an idea of the size and shape as trained first to find weakness in any cage. The steel was horizontal and cold perfection to his finger and toes in tracing no lines. Pulling out to find also the walls where much the same as he reached out more. So he was caged?

Shaking head back and forth to try and recall how and why he got here or even the day before. Then in also in his explorations, he questioned one thing: Were where his brothers? Fear over came the pain of the thought they could be dead! Was it the Foot again? He couldn't recall at all!

"Donnie?"

A voice of someone he knew?

"Raphy?"

Man did his voice sound like shit! Pulling him so reached out to find the wall and turn his shell to it. "Raphael where are you? I can't see a thing!"

Straining his ears for any kind of sound in his cage or box or what ever this thing was. Was Raph here in the same cage? Had he missed him in his search? Only hissing in the pain of the ache in his flesh a bit more in even moving so much. Man he was trashed and if he was this bad, no doubt in the genius mind so where the others. Where his other brothers dead? Feeling the coldness in his soul on the idea froze the young soul's heart.

"I think I'm in a cage next to you Genius, there's a vent so I think that's how you're hearing me. Its about four feet up above me." Raph's voice seemed to echo a bit more but still he only whispered. "At least I know your alive Donnie."

Chuckling hurt the young ninja's throat but hearing Raph seemed to chase some of the coldness in this place. "Yah, same here Hothead. You heard anything from Mikey and Leo?"

Something of a sign of a profound breathe filled in from the other side of their cage. Raphael only pulled at his mask so it slipped to hang around his throat a moment. Feeling a lost of hope on the others loomed on his shoulders. What to tell Donatello?

"I don't know Don, I'm as clues as you are right now. I don't even remember getting here at all. All a big blank to me man."

Twisting his head to move so he might hear his brothers soft words only brought up his own plight on the others. Adding all sorts of questions to his keen mind on how or why they got here. Last thing the bo user could recall was a pleasant summer night run with the others and having a game of tag like always. Moving to his hug his knees to his chest and press his shell closer to wall in maybe of hoping also to feel some of Raph's heat though the steel of this prison.

The quit of the other turtle made the Sai user also worry more on the younger brother in his own back to the wall and still letting his legs stretch. Raphael was not the comfort type like Leo was in his gentle words to his brothers at times or Mike's full on body hugs to tender touch on the head or shoulder to let them things would be ok. Still…

"Donnie I am sure they are just like us right now bro, so don't give up on em ok?" Ok that had sounded way too happy and hopefully to be Raph and winced on it. Man he sounded so Leo like! When had this happened? Maybe the ninja had gotten hit in the head to many times!

Laughter soon echoed from the vent above his head and blinked in hearing of all people save Donnie laugh like this and this kinda damn situation. Had Genius gone mad at last on them?

"Man Raphy, you sounded like a bad wanta be Leo!" Donatello gasp out in the laughter filled his cage which did not help his already aching ribs. "That's great Raph, now do Mikey!"

Nope Genius was still sane but maybe it was also the situation and the shock that even made the normally hot head smile and soon join in the momentary laughter of his brother.

Slowly wiping a tear way with a single finger "Thanks Genius, nice to know I can pull off Leo for your soul amusement."

Soon the laughter stopped as more of the reality set into both the teens. Would they see their brothers again and leave this place? Could they leave? Even if the other was close by, only a cold chill entered both their souls in knowing they might make it out. Where were Leo and Mike?

Note: Well first chapters is done! Been months from my last fanfiction or even writing so please bare with me on the grammar and etc on this thing. Also my First TMNT fic so they might be Occ at times! I know its also kinda short but its a start and I hope to make the next chapter longer! Also in need of a beta reader! So please message me if you can help a poor writer! Thanks for reading!


	2. Porn?

Chapter Two: Porn?

Sex is on the minds of most people, especially those who shouldn't be having it. " -William Glasser

How does it feel when you wake up with something akin to a hangover and your body feels like it was beaten by a few dozen Foot ninja with clubs? It sucks is all that can be said for the stirring body on the steel floor who felt as such.

Hissing in a linger of pain as the body moved. Lying on the steel floor did not really help much as hands reached out to feel around and reached up to his face to see if they were it was covered by a mask of blue. It was to dark to see anything as his eyes blinked and watered. What the shell had happened?

Leo felt the cold seeping into his chest and he shivered a bit "Guys?"

Talking hurt his parched lips. His tongue flicked out to try wetting them a bit, and tasted old blood and salt on the skin. Had they been in a fight? More questions sparked in the leader's mind as he tried to determine the events that lead to this imprisonment.

He sucked in more air to fill his lungs and slowly moved into a sitting position. Nothing seemed to be broken, at least; just every muscle was sore as shell. "Ok, think Fearless…how did you end up with your ass kicked and in a cage? Also where are the others?"

He narrowed his eyes and strained his ears to see if maybe they were all in the same cage, but only silence answered. Doing what he could, Leo slowly stood up and nearly fell as his right knee screamed out in soreness at being moved. So now his knee was blown out on top of things, which meant they had been in a hell of a fight. At least he could pick that up. Hobbling around his steel cage he got an idea of how big and tall the thing was, but there was no outline of a door of any kind.

"Great, I have no idea where the others are or how we got here..." Speaking out to no one made him feel dumb, but at least it killed the quiet.

"Leo?"

Blinking as he heard a voice he knew way too well made the ninja look around. "Mike? Where are you, bro?"

"Think I'm on the other side of you, dude. Sounds like you're on the right of my cage!"

Straining his ears to the sounds, Leo looked up to see maybe the outline of a vent in their prison. Maybe to keep air flowing? Too undersized to use as a door but at least he knew the youngest of them was kicking, so to speak.

"Mikey, how bad are you hurt, bro?" Leo moved to sit under the vent so he could his brother just a bit better. "Anything broken at all?"

Mikey shook his head as he crawled also to the vent and leaned his shell against it. Mostly the jokester felt like he had been beaten by Casey and his bat. "Nah, just really sore, Leo. Feels like I got hit by a train."

_Well at least he's talking to me but he sounds as worn out as I do._He thought for the moment and rubbed his knee.

Silence filled both sides as only the sounds of breathing echoed from both sides of the cage. Mikey felt a sense of the awkwardness in being left alone with their Fearless Leader. Normally he tended to end up with Donnie or Raph in this kind of situation. Not that he didn't love his big bro, just they had nothing in common really. Well, save being ninjas and mutants of the best kind: turtles.

"Leo?"

Looking up for the moment at the vent he [I would put "Leo" here to clarify who's speaking. You were just inside Mikey's head] tried to think of how Mikey was doing by his voice. "Yah?"

"You ever look at porn? Like watched it on the TV or the net or peeked in a magazine?"[Out of all the turtles, only Michelangelo would pick the most random conversation topic. Mikey could come up with the most shocking of things now and then, but this one might be the icing on the cake for him.

"We've been captured by some unknown foe at this time, Mikey. We have no idea where the others are, and you ask me about porn?" Leo said coolly, frowning as his brow wrinkled [Redundant – his brow will wrinkle when he frowns].

Mikey shivered, knowing he had pissed of their leader. But he also knew one thing: they couldn't give up. Leo was Mr. Doomsday whenever they got caught. Mikey also knew full well that Leo would replay events in this head till it drove the poor guy into the ground of worry and mental exhalation. Sure, the youngster was not all ninja super like or smart like the others, but he noticed those things about all his brothers they always seemed to miss themselves. Like worrying _way_ too much like Mr. Stick-Up-His-Tail.

"Come Leo, just talk to me about anything, please…I don't want to think of the other outcome." Mikey used his "I need hugs and loving voice."

Something of a sigh came over the airway, knowing that sound always worked on Mikey. The guy knew his fragile points a bit to well for Leo's taste. "Alright Mike, you win."

"So you ever look at porn?"

Still on that subject even after The Noise had been used.

Leo blushed at the thought, but it was too late to head back. "Yes."

Blinking in the blunt truth, Mikey wanted to laugh in knowing Mr. Perfect had seen porn. He laughed softly at thoughts of the black mail for later use. "How you get your hands on it?"

Yep, Mikey was on a roll and was not going to let this drop. "Casey"

Ooohhhhh, the juicy parts were coming on out! Leonardo had some dirty little secrets to spill in this convo. Time to take the bull by the horns, so to speak.

"Have you ever, you know, done the nasty alone and lubed with a tube sock?"

Man, did Leo want to bang his head on the wall as this question popped out. What did Mike think? Sure, he was stuck in his training and skills and aimed high to be the best. Sure, he had been called Mr. Stick ass by Raph more then once, and Fearless Leader, but they seemed to also forget he was also a teenager and thus had his happy times in his room. Raging hormones were a shared theme for any teen boy, no mater human or mutant.

"Yes, Mikey, I have, and I know you have also. That stash you hid in your wall…." Now it was pay back time.

Blushing redder then Raph's mask made the youngest cross his arms "Yah, well a turtle has needs too, bro."

Softer laughing was a welcome sound in this cold place to Mikey which he joined in with Leo for the moment as the two shared a moment. There was one thing Mikey was good at and it was making anything seem brighter, even in this gloom as Leo rubbed some tears from his eyes a bit.

"Mikey."

Breathing a bit and laughter did not help aching rib cage. "Yah, Leo?"

"Glad you're here." Leo let warmth fill his voice and leaned more into wall, seeking his brother's soothing aura.

Smiling softly, the nunchucker wanted to be with his brother more, but the wall kept this from happening. He had to keep Leo from falling too far into a depression and keep Fearless going. "Same to you, bro."

Notes: Well chapter two is done as best I can, I know the guys seem a bit OOC like I said but it went well! Also big thanks to: BubblyShell22, Puldoh and Chelsea619 for being my first reviews! So this one was for you guys and gals!

And if want to ask me a question in a review, I will answer it best I can in anything or well writing wise!

Also big thanks to my beta: panda1418

Also still looking for beta reader so if want to help out a poor fan girl in her writing, please just message me! Till next chapter folks!


	3. What is Missed?

Chapter Three: What is missed?

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment - Buddha

Tracing out basic math of addition and subtraction with his fingers kept Donnie from loosing it and giving into the pit of guilt building every passing hour. It was just so quiet in this place with Raph having slipped into sleep from the sounds of heavy snoring drifting in from the vent. If one of them could sleep in any place it was Raphael. Had to be some kind of ninja talent he had picked up from bunking with Mikey in their old lair as kids.

Smiling weakly, he recalled his two other brothers, and wanted to be home in their new Lair with Leo doing his sword moves, Mikey over on the couch with a comic in his hands, and the thump-thump of Raph hitting his punching bag. It was those little sounds that had always filled their home, the sounds you missed in this silence. Would they get home? Could they ever get out of this place and find the others alive?

_We have no idea if Mike or Leo is even alive or dead? Or if they are even here with us right now_. He thought, all the more of the thoughts flooding his mind. _I wish we had just one sign they were ok._

His finger that kept tracing the same number over and over paused. Donnie put his hand back on his kneepad and shivered a bit more, feeling this depth of loneliness for the first time in his short life. Did Leo feel this way when he thought his family was dead those other times they had been captured?

"Donnie, you still kicking it over there, bro?"

Raph's voice was a welcome sound to the genius' ears at that moment. He smiled in hearing the slur of words "Yah, just thinking"

Something of a lost sound filled his younger brother's voice. Oh this was not good at all! If Don was starting to lose hope then what would happen to him? "Donnie, stop thinking so much. If you over think a situation and all, it's all you can see. Master Splinter taught me that one."

Blinking in surprise, Don wondered how Raph had known he had just been doing that exact thing.

"You always over think stuff, Brainiac. Been that way since we were kids, ya know."

The bo user thought for a moment more on Raph's words in their observations of his character. Most of the time he let things mull over in his mind till it reached a breaking point that would drive him insane. Often it would go unnoticed by his brothers and even his father, because of the calm and composed mask Donatello always had on—his own way to hide from the world. So when had Raph seen through it?

The only way to know was to ask, right? The only bad question was the one not asked or the one that had no answer.

"How did you notice, Raphael?" Chewing the words a bit. "None of the others have, so how did you pick it up?

He creased his brow for a moment: it was an odd question from his brother. How had he noticed what? That Donnie would work himself into a tizzy over issues half the time that weren't his own? Or how when he got mad he would work on the same project for hours and hours even if he hit the same nail numerous times? Boy, did Genius not have a clue or what?

Rubbing his forehead, he spoke out the words, "I noticed because we are brothers, Donnie, last time I checked our family history."

Raph was always simple and to the point, but it still left Donnie a bit more in the dark of this while line of conversations forming. "Details, Raph. In a personal note, you are the first one to say this to me out loud. None of the others have picked up certain on details when I tend to go off in one of my moods."

Something was odd in Donnie's voice, almost way too calm for the hothead's taste. He reached up and pulled his mask down from his face, and rubbed his temples in a circler motion as their father had done more than once raising them. How did he see what the others did not and in detail? Man, did Genius know how to hit him upside the head in the mental department.

"Your hands. You tend to grip things tighter on your left side when you're angry or pissed. Or you seem to go off into la la land and just redo the same motion over and over when working on, say, the Battle Shell. " Raph just spat out the images he could recall at the moment. "Or sometimes you get super silent, like way too silent—even for you, Donnie."

Hearing this insight made even the brainy one of the brothers think a bit and even smile to himself in a warm thought to Raph. Of all the three, he seemed to note those little things about them that all the others missed.

"Thanks, Raph…"

"What for, Donnie?"

He smiled as he said, "For just being you and being my brother, hothead."

So maybe Donnie had lost it? How could he switch from one mood to another so quickly? Oh well, go with the flow on this one, Splinter might say. "Yah, sure, no problem, Donnie. So any idea on how we get out of here?"

The purple-masked one stood up as he began to think. "I believe and I do know that I told April if we did not call or connect with her by 12 a.m. that something has happened, and to get Master Splinter and Casey. And by my internal clock, I do believe we have been passed out for over 24 hours, if my math is right, so they should be looking for us and knowing April, I taught her how to hack and find us with our GPS on the cell shells and also the one I slipped under my own skin as a back up."

"Donnie, take a breath, man, you're going to die from lack of air to your brain." Raph laughed in hearing this from Donnie all at once, but it was the norm for the poor guy. "So basically the others are going to find us in a few days and you planted a extra chip on ya in case something happen to our cells. Good plan, Donnie, like always."

"Thank you. Someone has to think out things in this family."

Donnie smiled as he sat down and felt a bit of warmth to the hothead—hell, he was his brother! "We will get out, Raph. Don't give up!"

_I should be telling him that one, but oh well!_ Raph thought with a smile. "Never, Don. With you around how can I lose hope?"

Note: It's a little fluffy I know and drama filled but I was thinking that maybe sometimes Donnie might get left unnoticed with his own feelings by the others and thought it would make a good bounding point for him and Raph!

Also big hugs and thanks to: panda1418! Shes been my beta on this story is doing a killer job! Thanks Hon, owe ya a big one!


	4. Meaning of Colors

Chapter Four: Meaning of Colors

"Words are chameleons, which reflect the color of their environment." Learned Hand

Ok, so now what do you do to pass time when you have no comics, games or even light to draw on the floor? Well you can stare at the walls, for one, and make shadow puppets. Or you can just daydream of being the Turtle Titan and saving the day and getting the hot babes like in the comics.

Yep, it was all Michelangelo could do for the time being, as he could only lie on his side on the floor for the moment. Man, this was so bunk! There was nothing to do in their cell—hell, even some foot ninja to talk smack to would have been something to do for the hyperactive one of the four.

"BOOORRRRRRRINGGGG!" He yawned, stretching out his body from hands to toes as his voice echoed in the emptiness.

Leo cracked open an eye at the long, dull word from Mikey. Hell, he was just meditating to pass some time, but with Mikey also came a lot of sounds. Maybe he should try and teach Mikey some meditation when they get back to the Lair, just to keep him quiet for next time this happened. But a quiet Michelangelo? Might as well imagine hell freezing over.

Huffing a bit, Leo wanted to yell out the words but kept a composed tone he used on his little brother. "Well, just yelling out words is not going to help in this boredom, Michelangelo. Why don't you try the breathing exercises Sensei taught us a few days ago?"

Breathing exercises? While they are trapped and caged by who knows what thugs? Man, Leo could not pick a worse time to be Mr. Ninja. Mikey huffed a bit and felt the same old urge to tell Leo to shove it and find a life outside of Ninjutsu!

Leo heard nothing from his brother for a moment. Then he started to sing—not the normal kind of music, but it had to be the Pokémon theme song! Of all things his brother had to pick to sing while in a cell that would echo and bounce around, it had to be the Pokémon theme song! Leo reached up to cover his ears. He gound his teeth as the words filtered though like a hammer to his poor, already overworked brain!

"I want to be the very best, like nnnnnnnoo one ever was! To catch them is my…" Mikey sat on his butt, legs crossed and moving in tune to the music. "I will travel across the land…"

He couldn't take it any more! "MIKEY, SHUT THE HELL UP!"

Hearing Leo yell at the top of his voice made the youngest stop in mid line and nearly drop his jaw. Fearless never yelled at them unless he got really mad, but normally that was Raph when Mikey drove him up the wall, or if Donnie was getting fed up with one of his experiments not going right. His eyes widened and quiet once more filled the cells, but it seemed Leo was far from done.

"Why do you always do this, Mikey? Every time something down right life threatening happens, you just seem to try and make a joke out of this. Well, this is not a joke! We have no idea who captured us or why, or even if Donnie and Raph are alive!" Leo spat out the words, glaring at the vent to his brother's cage. "You do this all the time…you have no discipline as ninja!"

Normally Mikey would just shut up and move away from the room when Leo tore him a new one. Then Leo would feel bad about yelling at his brother and go and find him in his room, and they would make up with a little side talk as normal. Yet maybe this time Mikey did have something to say back to their so-called fearless leader.

"So I should just sit here and seek nirvana, think about how maybe dead Raph and Donnie are, worry about us slowly starving to death on top of things, if April and the others are even looking us? Yah, that's a good way to plan, Mr. Leader! Makes this whole situation all the more lighter with your sunny attitude, Leo!" Mikey let the anger weave into his words, also glaring at the vent to his brother's cell. "Makes me feel much better in the end. We could end up dying here over weeks of our bodies slowly feeding off themselves."

Leo blinked. It was unnerving to hear such a harsh tone from his bright brother, but it hit a home run on Leo in his own thoughts. Was Mikey thinking those kinds of dark thoughts? Somehow, when he looked back on these moments, it had been Mikey of all of them to keep holding on to ends their friends and father would find them, or that they would find a way out. Using words to keep their sprits up or even bad jokes to keep them from falling into those dark thoughts time and time again.

Harsh breathing came out of the youngest of the four, sounding like he might be close to crying. Leo peered down at the floor, feeling the guilt in his actions to Mikey in this situation. "I'm sorry, Mikey. I just feel lost, and in truth I have no idea what to do."

Had Fearless just said he was stuck? Blinking, he caught his own breath back from the speech that made him feel his own guilt. "It's ok, dude. I just think we are both feeling a bit lost right now."

Mikey always seemed to pick up on things none of the others said out loud. Leo smiled a bit in his own defeat. "Mikey, a penny for your thoughts?"

"What, just a penny, Leo? Maybe a whole buck and you might get me to make a whole conversation with you, Fearless!" Mikey smiled softly in the surge of humor. "So, my thoughts on what, Leo?"

"Anything, Mikey. Just anything to keep these thoughts away, even just for a while." Leo nearly sounded like a child to his brother, of all people.

It was the request and tone of his brother's voice that made Mikey feel slightly out of place, knowing Leo was replaying on him maybe more than normal without the other two around to act as a buffer from the youngest to the oldest.

"Do you think our mask colors match who we are, Leo?" Mikey smirked, fingering his own mask tails for a moment.

An odd question, which made Fearless think for a moment. "That is a good question, Mikey."

"Take Donnie, right? He's purple, of all the colors! Some say it holds the meaning of judgment, which we all know he has the most of, save you. But he also goes all tech on us to a point where we cannot understand, huh? " Mikey grinned a bit, thinking of his older brother fondly in memories past.

Leo thought about the meaning a bit more. "It goes with royalty, magic, mystery also. Mikey, mystery is something he loves and he will do everything to find the answer to any mystery put up to him. But I don't think seeing maybe Donnie dressed as a king suits him."

Mikey grinned as he thought, "Maybe purple pimp suit? Donnie always gets all the ladies, man!"

Laughter rolled out from Leo's chest at thinking of his brother as a pimp of all things. He tried not to wipe the tears away from the sudden image of his brother with a pimp cane, surrounded by ladies!

"I think you're right, Mikey, but personally I think I am more the ladies man than Donnie." Leo smiled, playing in on an old joke with his young brother.

"Yah, but they always try to kill you too, like a Miss Ninja we both know, huh Leo?"

Smiling a bit more he kept on. "What about Raph? His red color really reflects that temper he has a bit too much of, if you ask me."

Mikey blinked, knowing Fearless was right, but he had done a bit more color research on his own a few weeks ago due to being bored. "True, but it also goes with courage big time. Which is something we know Raph seems to never lack. No matter what is going on, he rushes in full on with out any fear, Leo. Yah, sure it's gotten him and us into trouble, but it's also saved our shells, and a lot of people."

Leaning back, Leo thought a bit deeper into Mikey's words as they sank in. His little brother was deep then. Even he could think at times, when he took time to think out things like this. Personally he would never have looked into their personal colors to get more insight into his brothers. Once more, it seemed their father had been right. Mikey, once he grew up a bit more, this young ninja might even overshadow his big brothers in a manner of a few short years.

Long moments passed as Leo thought of asking Mikey about his own colors and insights. "Mikey?"

Yet all he got was something of a snoring sound from the youngest. Had he gone to sleep in the middle of talking? Leo shook his head, knowing the poor kid needed the sleep maybe more then he did.

"And they call me a buzz kill. Good timing, Mikey."

He leaned against the wall, and the all to well known sounds of his brother sent him to sleep for a few hours, so he might have a clearer view on how to get out of here and find the others."

Note: Well bit of deeper sight into Mikey on this chapter with Leo, I found this one to be the hardest to write some how after trying it out like 4 times! But after looking color meanings it just came out to this! So thanks for reading and please reviews! Also big thanks to Panda once more!


	5. Eggs?

Chapter Five: Eggs?

The world is full of hopeful analogies and handsome, dubious eggs, called possibilities. George Eliot

* * *

He furrowed his brows as he stared at the blank walls—or what he assumed were blank walls, anyway. It was too dark in this hellhole to even see what color the walls might be. The darkness only added to the ticking of the clock as to how long they been here. He had no idea. It could have been a few hours, days, or even weeks.

Sometimes he would just sleep to shut up his mind after talking to Donnie about random things, or when the younger of two also let his body rest. What Raph was finding strange was that no one had stopped by. If it had been, say, Hun or Stockman, they would come by the taunt them at least. That was Bad 101 for people like them. Hell, even the Shedder gave the classic long-winded speeches to them every time he tried to kick their shells.

He found it strange no one had come, especially after Donnie had felt around, being the geek that he was, said they had no cameras in their well-made cages. So it begged the question: whom or what had taken him and his brothers? He glared harder at the thick walls as thoughts of his other brothers picked at his mind.

"Why eggs?"

Donnie's brisk voice broke Raphael's train of thought. He had to blink before asking, "Eggs?"

Donnie had been running strange phrases in his head and came upon the odd question that no man or turtle seemed to know the answer: What had come first, the chicken or the egg? It was an odd, illogical thing to think of at the moment, but it somehow had come to reap his mind for some countless hours. While staring into the darkness, he thought that maybe he had cracked up like the main subject. There was just no logic to the very question and whoever thought of it in the first place. But the egg did hold a strong symbolic meaning to many cultures.

"Yes, eggs of all things. Have you ever thought of what they mean?" he asked, lost in thought, with his arms crossed.

"Breakfast?"

He rolled his eyes. It was always food with Raph, but somehow he found Raph's honest blunt nature to be a true source **of honesty . **"Yes, it means food, but have you thought, we come from eggs ourselves when we were normal turtles. And it's been proven we share common ancestry lines with birds so we are related to chickens…"

Raph knew it was going to be one of those rants in which his little brother would not shut up and could on for hours and hours on one subject, driving anyone up the wall. But he was also trapped in a cage at this point, so there was no escape. He felt it was going to be many a strange convo with Donnie, as a few had happen since being put here.

"Ok, are you saying we are related to chickens?"

He titled his head a bit, pondering the questing before answering it bluntly: "Yes, so by eating eggs and chickens or any bird, we are cannibals, Raph."

There was the slapping sound of a hand hitting a face, accompanied by a strange horselaugh that seemed to fill the empty cell on both ends. Donatello blinked the full-on gut laugh coming from Raph. Sure, he did laugh at times, but it was a dry chuckle. This seemed to come from the very center of his body. Smiling, Don too joined in the joy—even in this place.

Laughing did help ease some thoughts in both brothers' minds for the moment. Raphael even enjoyed the stranger rants from the Techie all the more. It sort of felt like he was just getting to know the guy for the first time.

"Donnie, I can never eat BBQ chicken now. I'll think it's some distant a lot, Tech…" Raph swallowed some air to speak for the moment. "Really, you just killed my summer cooking plans."

Still smiling, his mind was still focused on eggs. "Often the egg has been seen also a symbol rebirth in both the old pagan traditions. And strangely it might have been adopted also by the early Christians, which is why we maybe have our Easter eggs!"

He thought back to their childhood—or turtlehood—when their father had hidden eggs all over the Lair in odd places to see if his sons could find them using their training. Often some places had candy to add in the joy of the hunt. Feh, Leo always found the eggs and the candy but shared it with his brothers, saying it was a team effort.

"So let me get this straight, it's like we are doing cannibalism but adding in the rebirth?" Raph smiled, hoping it might make Donnie shut up for a moment.

"Hmmm, yes in truth I think so, Raphy! We are adding in the endless cycles of rebirth!"

He face palmed again, which was followed by more of Donnie's random thoughts.

"But still why the chicken? Also, why did a bunny end up being a symbol of a holiday of death and rebirth?"

"Marketing?"

"Good point, Raph. It spreads out the holiday to a wider range of people!"

Here they sat, in cells, and Donnie were having a complex thought about bunnies and eggs? Could this event get any stranger without Donnie snapping at last? Time could only tell as Raph started to pray to any higher power that he would take Shedder saving them!

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Notes: Well a bit later then never for a update! My laptop ending up getting some bugs in it and it took a bit to save and then evil writers block hits! Yet I got it out and can hit the next one and also the egg came from a convo with a friend way to late at night! Also thanks to Panda for her beta skills which she did beta this!


	6. Back Wards Words?

Chapter Six: Back wards Words?

Data is not information, information is not knowledge, knowledge is not understanding, understanding is not wisdom.  
Clifford Stoll

Warning: Not Beta yet

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Leo for the most part had a lot of time to listen to his youngest sibling rattle on when it came to this one other passion of his life: comic books. How Mikey could just talk for hours and hours about those made up hero's and their fake tales made him want to bang his head into the ground for the moment but being the oldest and the leader and also being a brother with a lot of praying to great Kami's was holding off from doing such a mundane thing.

"Ok then Light Rider was all like attacking Mr. Doom with his staff!" Mikey said, eminent in a clear ring of joy to his words. "Man Leo it was just epic man!

"I know Mike, this being the fourth time you have told me this…" he yawned a bit, letting the boredom in his voice.

Mikey could hear that all to well know sound of Leo and signed a bit himself. Yah he knew he had been just talking and talking over and over but he did it to keep Leo from going down that emo and blame path he always did when these things happened to the brother. Sure their brother was the leader and Mr. Ninja but Mikey also knew that Leo had a lot of doubt and stress to deal with on his own.

"Mikey, question."

Turning to hear this, the sibling raised an eye brow a moment under his mask and tiled his head; "Yah?"

"Why do you even read comic books in the first place? No offense but it seems a bit shallow and a waste of time to me. Why not try a book?" Leo pushed it a bit, knowing that they had nothing else to talk about for the moment.

What got him was the abnormal silence of response from the normally hyper turtle for the moment that went from seconds to mintots as he head only a bit of long drawn breathe from his brother as if he was trying to get his thoughts in order. Mikey never tried to get his thoughts in order but what came most was the solid tone from his brother that lost any kind of humor from it.

"Swear to me you will never tell father or Raph or any one else Leo if I tell you this…" Mikey tone held even a threat?

Blinking, Leo found it most off his brother would even use this tone on him but he knew this was always a bit of bait to some dark secret of Mikey. Even the idea of Mikey having a secent might be worth it. Like Mikey could even keep something to himself!

"Sure, I swear Mikey."

"You know how I hard time learning to read and spell as kids?" Mikey said quickly, hugging his knees closer.

"Yah, sensai had to teach you away from us a lot. Personally I thought you just acted out to get more of his time away form us." Leo frowned a bit, recalling how Mikey would act out on purpose.

"Well that was not the case….which Donnie and I found out a few years ago…"

"Ok so he could tell Donnie and not tell the rest of us?" Leo thought for the moment, feeling a bit of jealous his other brother had kept something from him.

"Donnie gave me a bunch of word test and spelling test Leo about two years ago, he kind of asked me the same thing you did on my whole come book thing." Mikey shifted a bit, feeing uneasy about the whole subject now. "I see E's backwards and L's and sometimes the words just blend into blobs…or I can't apart the words well like in grammar and spelling..."

"So what it mean then Mikey?"

"I got Dyslexia Leo; it's why I like comic books so much. They use images to tell a story so I could understand them better."

Silence fell on the other side of the vent as this discovery of his younger brother hit a home run in his mind. His little brother had a learning disability? He had kept this also to himself all this time while they had teased him on being a bit dumb at times or having brain damage! Man did he feel even worse in recalling his own long talks to Mikey on reading a book or messing up on writing or home work. Shell he felt like a total ass hole now.

Mikey rolled his eyes in knowing now Leo was going to do the blame game on this one. "Leo, don't blame yourself dude, some people are just born with it man. It's just something I learned to live with all this time and it's not like it affects my ninja training."

"Mikey…I am sorry about some of the things I use to tease and lecture you on…" Leo bit his cheek a touch.

"Dude doesn't do this to me now! Sheesh Leo! It's not your fault like I said! I just learn things different like then you guys and a touch slower when it comes to words and such. Just don't tell Raph or the others please," Mikey trailed off, feeling strangely out of place from his own family.

"I promise and how about this Mikey! Why don't I help you on the spelling or maybe we could try books on tape for you? I maybe got a few you might like." Leo smiled, hoping his little bro would take the bait.

"Books on tape? Huh? Never thought of trying that one before! Thanks Leo!"

Having a happy Mikey was a lot better then having a depressed one? Thinking back on what kind of stories Mikey might like…"How does Lord of the Rings sound as a start? You love the flicks!"

Smiling in recalling the epic movies made the hyper one smile more in thinking he could listen to his favorite movies as books. "Sure dude, let's start on those when we get home! I can listen to them when we work out or before I go to sleep!"

"Sounds like a good start Mikey"

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Note: Yah…not my best but as for main story idea on this one. I had a friend who had Dyslexia in school and a lot of times she used book on tape and got really into manga! I thought of why also Mikey might read comics like he does and well wrote on it.


End file.
